Hyde Park School of Dance - Recurring Events

Recurring Events at Hyde Park School of Dance

The Nutcracker

Without question, The Nutcracker is one of our most beloved annual traditions. Students of Hyde Park School of Dance aged seven and up come together year after year to bring this family favorite to life on the stage of beautiful neighboring Mandel Hall.

Colorful costumes, beautiful choreography, kid-friendly narration, and Tchaikovsky's iconic score delight audiences within the festive confines of the historic Victorian theatre. Outside the theatre, before the curtain rises, during intermission, and after the show, audiences are treated to a bustling holiday bazaar, replete with last-minute gifts, delicious refreshments, souvenirs of the show, and character meet and greets.

But The Nutcracker isn't the only performance you'll see when you attend! Putting the "pre" in "pre-show entertainment" are the little dancers who set the stage for the fun to follow in The Nutcracker's adorable opener, the Pre-Ballet Holiday Show! Four-, five-, and six-year-olds perform original choreography to some of their favorite holiday tunes in what, for many, is their big stage debut.

For a heart-warming family-friendly holiday treat, don't miss The Nutcracker, presented by Hyde Park School of Dance!

Spring Concert

The Spring Concert is HPSD’s annual free-to-participate all-school production.

Dancers learn their choreography for the Spring Concert in class, which means that they can take part without committing to a rehearsal schedule in addition to their regularly classes. Dancing in the Spring Concert is entirely free of cost, and students aged three to eighteen who participate in HPSD's drop-off classes are invited to participate.

The Hyde Park School of Dance Spring Concert takes place in May.
To stay abreast of this and other happenings at the school, subscribe to our calendar!

Left: A group of funny frogs takes the stage in HPSD's 2015 Spring Concert.

Gala

Every other year, Hyde Park School of Dance hosts a swanky gala to gather together our supporters to dance and mingle and make merry. Featuring a stellar silent auction and raffle items, live music, fine dining, and performances by HPSD faculty and students, the gala is a sparkling celebration of the community that is Hyde Park School of Dance! To stay apprised of the details regarding our next gala, subscribe to the HPSD All-School Calendar!

Samantha markham performing her own choreography

Student Choreography Showcase

The Student Choreography Showcase is an intimate, invitation-only performance featuring student-choreographed dances. Donations are collected at the door to benefit a variety of local charities, each year's selected by the dancers presenting the showcase. Students choreograph their works specifically for debut in the showcase, and select pieces from the showcase are chosen to be featured in the forthcoming Spring Concert. The motivation for crafting innovative and moving works is strong, and the pieces our dancers choreograph for the showcase are truly impressive!

Pointe Variations Showcase

In ballet, a variation, sometimes called a pas seul, is a solo dance. Leaping danseurs and ballerinas en pointe perform their favorite solo works in the invitation-only Variations Showcase. Proceeds benefit a charity selected by the participating dancers.

Hyde Park School of Dance performs regularly in a variety of annual local events. You can see us dance live at these great neighborhood traditions and more!

Children's Book Fair
Every autumn the Children's Book Fair returns to offer kids and their families an outdoor local book market featuring their favorite storybook characters, games, crafts, and children's entertainers. Company dancers from HPSD perform on the main stage at the Children's Book Fair year after year.

Dance In The Parks
The mission of Dance In The Parks, founded by one of our very own ballet instructors, Katie McCann, is to bring free, professional dance performances to Chicago's most accessible venues - its public parks! We are honored to perform with this esteemed outfit in the summertime!

Logan Center Family Saturdays
Discover your child's artistic passion with free, hands-on creative workshops at UChicago' Logan Center! HPSD is proud to take part in Logan Center Family Saturdays.

In-Class Events

During the course of each of two 16-week-long academic year sessions, we offer a number of supplementary events to round out the work our students do in their classes.

Family Visiting Week is one such event, during which parents, grandparents, friends and other special invited guests are welcomed into the studios during our regularly scheduled classes to take pictures and observe.

Dancer Dress Up Week is another. During Dancer Dress Up Week, dancers in each class are invited to wear whatever they want into the studios, be it a Halloween costume, a fancy tutu, a cool cape, a favorite dress-up outfit, or whatever beloved apparel the regular dress code does not allow. During this special fun week, dancers will work with their instructors to create original choreography inspired by their get-ups!

Free Public Performances

Every Halloween, dancers from HPSD's youth companies get down to spooky business with a series of performances. You can catch them dancing in the aisles of the UChicago Symphony Orchestra's annual themed Halloween concert (a free, family-friendly, costumed event), or marching downtown in the Chicago Cultural Mile's Halloween Gathering Parade. Many years, they orchestrate Thriller flash mobs around the neighborhood. Whichever events you attend, you'll want to make sure to make HPSD part of your family's Halloween tradition!

Halloween Events

A coven of witches assembled of members of HPSD's youth company performs to the sounds of a live symphony orchestra in this annual joint holiday production with the USO at Hyde Park's Mandel Hall.

Story Ballet

Every other year, during our Spring Session, Hyde Park School of Dance produces an original ballet based on a beloved children's story.

Presented in beautiful local venues such as the Reva and David Logan Center for The Arts, our story ballets are family-friendly affairs that sow seeds of cultural awareness in young audiences and bring our mission of strengthening youth through the arts out into the community we serve.

Participation in HPSD's story ballet is by audition. For audition dates, please subscribe to our calendar!
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Right: HPSD dancer Eriko Koide as the titular character in HPSD’s 2015 production of the original story ballet The Nightingale above the Reva and David Logan Center for The Arts in Hyde Park, Chicago.